After
Judas had betrayed Jesus and hung himself, the apostles gathered to choose a
replacement for him. Among the men proposed were two, Matthias and Joseph called
Barsabbas. The apostles knew that both these men had been with them and
with Jesus through his whole ministry as disciples. They cast lots in order to discover God's will and
Matthias was chosen. He was the twelfth apostle and
the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Unlike the other 12 who were hand-picked by Jesus, warts and all, Matthias was
chosen from among 120 others. So there must have been something special about
him - his credentials must have been quite impressive, even though we know so
little about him. Legends like the Acts of
Andrew and Matthias testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being
an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution,
and death in the service of the Lord. Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other
apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for
what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw
he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would
become worthy. Jesus chooses all of us in the same way.
Have you ever felt like an
afterthought, a latecomer? Or have you ever resented someone new who was added
to your group? It is not our prerogative to decide who belongs and who doesn’t
belong within our church. God chooses people He deems fit to serve him. The
same goes with vocations. We are all called for specific roles, sometimes
unknown to us, until we realize our gifts and talents. So let us welcome any
newcomers to our parishes, work, or family community
as someone chosen by God, as the apostles welcomed St Matthias.
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